


Peas in a Pod

by theclaravoyant



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Ace!Fitz, F/M, Gen, Queerplatonic FitzSimmons, Queerplatonic Relationships, also aro!jemma but that's just in my head, queerplatonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-05
Updated: 2017-06-05
Packaged: 2018-11-09 09:08:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11101383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theclaravoyant/pseuds/theclaravoyant
Summary: The morning after FZZT, Skye stumbles upon FitzSimmons together - but not like that.





	Peas in a Pod

**Author's Note:**

> for a tumblr prompt: "Skye finds Jemma in Fitz's bunk after FZZT, and they end up talking about queerplatonic relationships & aro and/or ace identities."
> 
> I'm currently accepting Pride prompts in the comments below or on tumblr (@theclaravoyant).

more QP FitzSimmons in [Birds of a Feather](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9788843) - aro!Jemma in [Love is Not an Eight Letter Word](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7174796)

-

It was the morning after the scariest day of her life, and Skye woke with her heart pounding heavily in her chest. She couldn’t remember if she’d been dreaming, or if so, what it had been about, but in her state of panic she remembered the way her heart had dropped, her mouth had gone dry, her every thought had turned to _death death death_ when Jemma had jumped. She would have survived and landed and gone on, and her friend would be dead. Gone. Forever. She’d never been that close to it before. 

All of a sudden, she felt an urge to see Jemma’s face. Or Fitz’s, which if nothing else, would remind her that they’d come out of it after all. So, still in her pyjamas, Skye bolted across the hall and knocked on Jemma’s door. No answer? She tried Fitz’s instead, her whole body starting to shake, _just in case,_ but then – 

“Yeah, come in.”

Not screamingly enthusiastic, but definitely not the voice of a man who had lost his best friend the day before. Relieved, Skye pulled the door open, and yelped. 

“AH! NO!” She spun on the spot and covered her eyes, unsure where to look or not look. Unsure what she had just seen or not seen. 

Jemma laughed and sat up, Fitz’s blankets pooling around her, now revealing most of the Sci-Tech Academy logo on the shirt she was wearing.

“It’s okay, Skye,” she assured her. “We’re both decent.” 

Skye settled, and dropped her hand from her eyes. Fitz had crossed the room as if to open the door for her, and was frowning a little, confused by her reaction. 

“It’s cool,” Skye said, shrugging to recover her casual exterior, though she was still a little flushed and breathless. “Extreme situations give rise to new relationships. All the time.” 

“New relationships?” FitzSimmons shared a glance, and then snapped back to Skye, in unison.

“This is a new thing, right?” Skye checked, waving a finger between them. She may not be a long-time trained spy, but she wasn’t _that_ thick. Besides, it had only been yesterday (such a long day) that Fitz had been snorting and guffawing and denying his chemistry with Jemma and even – if Skye was not mistaken – flirting with _her_ instead. With no real reason to keep a secret from her – well, not one like that – the only other conclusion Skye could draw was that the two of them had finally been driven into each other’s arms by the previous day’s near-death experience. It happened.

It happened, but it was not what had happened here. 

“Oh,” Simmons said, as if explaining aside to Fitz. “She thinks we slept together last night.” 

“What?” Fitz baulked. “No! Of course not! I mean we slept but we didn’t… _sleep…”_

“Fitz and I aren’t together,” Simmons explained, cutting him off. “Well, not by your standards, anyway.” 

“ _’My_ standards,’” Skye repeated, confused. “As opposed to what? _Your_ standards? What, are you guys aliens or something?”

“What?” Fitz was momentarily alarmed. 

“What?” Skye locked her eyes on his, wondering if she’d actually managed to catch him out. She’d always felt there was something weird about this place, and about FitzSimmons. And with everything that had happened recently, aliens wouldn’t be that much of a stretch, to be honest.

But Fitz seemed just as keen to catch her out as she was him, and so they stared each other down for a few seconds until Jemma waved them off again. 

“No, I just meant… most people don’t understand the nature of our relationship.” 

Skye snorted. 

“Alright, Ms Grey,” she teased. “Now I _know_ that can’t be as kinky as it sounded just now, so I’m curious. If you two aren’t aliens – which I’m not entirely sold on, by the way – what am I? What do you mean ‘my standards’?” 

“I didn’t mean to offend, Skye,” Simmons apologised. “It’s just a little obscure. Fitz and I, we’re in what’s called a ‘queer-platonic’ relationship. It’s like, well it is friendship I suppose, but it’s… deeper than that. It’s like, friendship with the commitment of a romantic relationship. But without the actual romance.” 

Skye frowned. 

“Isn’t that just like, really good friendship?” 

“Well, in a way, yes,” Simmons explained, and then took a deep breath that warned Skye she was in for an info-dump. 

“But also, no. See, the term ‘platonic’ has its origins in Ancient Greek and could actually be used refer to any non-sexual non-familial love. It simply means ‘confined to thought and concept, and not resulting in action’, which in this case would be sex. So technically, non-sexual romantic acts are also platonic. Well, they were. I mean, the evolution of language does have to be taken into consideration, obviously, which is where the ‘queer’ part of it comes in. It doesn’t refer to Fitz’s or my orientations but rather, to the relationship itself - ‘queering’ the definition of platonic as we know it today, to make it more resembling of the older, wider version. At least, that’s how I see it.” 

Skye blinked, speechless for a moment.

“Cool,” she said slowly, once she had run it over in her head and absorbed it. Fitz shook his head, and simplified. 

“Skye. When you first met us, did you assume we were friends or a couple?”

“… a couple?” Skye confessed.

“When you found out we were ‘just friends,’ did that make sense to you?”

“Of course!” 

Fitz and Jemma glared a little. Skye rolled her eyes, blushing with chagrin. 

“Alright, I still wanted you two to get together and I still thought maybe you had or should have had something going on. But that happens to loads of friends, right?” 

“Sure, probably,” Fitz agreed. 

“Especially those of different sexes,” Simmons put in. 

“But for us, we like to have the label,” Fitz explained. “It’s a different type of companionship, that’s all. It’s a very deep, very special connection that we share, that’s different to how we relate to other people. Some people might experience something similar and call it love; other people might call it friendship. We call it queerplatonic. It’s our special balance, that’s all.”

Skye frowned, still absorbing. It made as much sense as it didn’t make, and strangely enough, it seemed like a perfect concept to describe a relationship such as theirs. Two people who insisted they were not in love even though, by all accounts, they appeared to be. Perhaps they were not in denial after all, but simply, in a balance? 

“Tell me more?” Skye requested.

“Of course!” 

“We’d be glad to.” 

Excited to share this oft-undiscovered part of their life with such an open mind as Skye’s, FitzSimmons beckoned her further into the room, so that all three of them sat on the bed – it was too small a space otherwise, anyway. 

“Are you guys exclusive?” Skye wondered. “And, do you – you know – have sex? Or could you? Is queerplatonic a Thing? Do other ones work like yours?” 

“It’s the same as with all relationships,” Fitz explained. “No two look exactly the same and like I said before, one person’s queerplatonic might be another’s romance or friendship or friends-with-benefits-ship. There are lots of different arrangements. Like, homosexual QPs exist too, and some with more than two partners. It all depends on the people.” 

“As does the sex,” Simmons put in. “Some QPs have it, others stay away from it, for various reasons. Fitz and I, for example, we probably wouldn’t have sex because Fitz is ace.” 

She gestured to him to explain, but before he could open his mouth, Skye exclaimed an interruption. 

“Oh! I know that one!” she cried. “Not a fan of sex, right?” 

She high-fived him, quite pleased with herself, and continued. 

“I get it. I mean, I don’t _get_ it because sex is The Bomb, but I respect it. What about you, Simmons? Are you two exclusive?” 

Simmons shrugged. 

“At the moment, we are,” she said lightly, “but that’s just by default. We haven’t really talked about it either way.” 

“Well, you should,” Skye suggested, “because your boy’s been flirting with me and I’m not entirely sure he knows that’s what he’s been doing but maybe it’s time to get your chips in order.” 

Fitz blushed, chagrined. Simmons blinked at him, a little surprised. 

“By the way, sorry man,” Skye continued, “you’re a good guy but you’re just not my type. In case we’re getting our wires crossed here.” 

Fitz raised his hands in surrender.

“I understand. No crossed wires.” 

“It was worth a shot. I appreciate the appreciation.”

“My pleasure.” 

“You’re a good guy and you’ll find a real romantic partner someday, if you want one,” Skye continued, putting a sympathetic hand on Fitz’s knee, and Fitz laughed.

“Is this a breakup speech? You shouldn’t have.” 

“Hey, you’re my friend, and I’ll wingman you if you want me to. The offer still stands – I mean, if it’s okay with Jemma, I guess?” Skye glanced between them, still not sure exactly where the line lay on this sort of thing. Simmons waved her back to Fitz, who shrugged, and then put an arm around Simmons’ shoulders.

“No thanks.” He grinned. “I think I’ve got everyone I need right here.”


End file.
